


be still, my beating heart

by dietcoked



Category: NCT (Band), WAYV
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - High School, Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Donghyuck centric, High School, M/M, Prom, Soulmate-Identifying Marks, Soulmates, ill come up with better tags soon, markhyuck
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-08
Updated: 2021-01-17
Packaged: 2021-03-01 18:20:58
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 17,938
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23551459
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dietcoked/pseuds/dietcoked
Summary: “Ugh,” He whines once he returns to his senses. “Can’t we take a break?”Mark looks at him, incredulous. “It’s only been twenty minutes.”“Well, I read once that you should take a break every twenty minutes,” he shrugs, sitting back in his chair and folding his arms in a way that couldn’t really be argued with.“The person that said that probably wasn’t failing calculus,” Mark points out.Donghyuck has the gall to smirk as he gets up and walks over from his desk to the bed, dropping down on top of his covers. “Exactly.”[All Hyuck wants is to pass calculus, give good advice in his agony aunt column, and maybe tear down the patriarchy. He most certainly doesn’t want to find his soulmate.But it seems like the universe has other ideas (especially when it comes to the calculus).]
Relationships: Lee Donghyuck | Haechan/Mark Lee, Lee Jeno/Na Jaemin, Park Jisung/Zhong Chen Le, more tbc - Relationship
Comments: 48
Kudos: 212





	1. one

**Author's Note:**

> long time no see
> 
> i'm quarantined and bored, and this - inspired by my love of soulmate aus, a day of listening to dream and my university anonymous submissions page - has arisen from the ashes. it's a lil different bc i usually like to write the whole thing before posting so i can properly edit, but the whole thing is planned and hey, i have nothing but time. give markhyuck some love y'all, i may be living through them vicariously atm.

_Dear Not Just a Number_

_I think I’m in love. I met the cutest guy. He’s smart, good-looking, funny and plays football, and really that ticks all the boxes on my hypothetical soulmate checklist. There’s only one problem: he’s not actually my soulmate. His number is different from mine. I know some people date people that aren’t their soulmate anyway, but I’m really worried that he’ll find the girl with the right number, and I’ll be left heartbroken._

_Is it worth dating him, or am I wasting my time?_

_Yours faithfully,_

_Head Over Heels._

**_Dear Head Over Heels,_ **

**_If, as your name suggests, you are indeed head over heels for this guy, then by all means, date him! I am a firm believer in living in the now, not hung up on a person you don’t know and may never actually meet!_ **

**_Of course, as_ my _name suggests, and regular readers will be aware, I’m not particularly fond of the system in general, and my life mission is to find happiness with someone I choose, not chosen for me by the higher ups, and I encourage you to do the same._**

**_Besides, what’s high school without getting your heart broken once or twice or fifteen times, am I right?_ **

**_Sincerely,_ **

**_Not Just A Number_ **

7470365127

Donghyuck stares at the number on his wrist, stroking a finger over the small but weighted digits. He could tell you that number with his eyes closed; forwards, backwards, upside down and maybe even in Spanish if he’d paid enough attention in that class.

Somewhere out there, someone else has this exact same number branded on them in the exact same place. Someone perfect for Donghyuck, his _soulmate_ – although who has decided exactly who that is, he isn’t quite sure.

“Ooh! Is that your number?” Jaemin pries, setting his lunch down on the table in the cafeteria and nearly choking on the metal straw in his iced americano (metal because Jaemin believes he’ll save the planet with that metal straw of his – something Hyuck is somewhat cynical about). He cranes his neck, attempting to catch a glimpse of the digits before he clips his watch back on and promptly yanks his sleeve back down.

Jeno follows closely behind, setting his lunch tray beside Jaemin’s. “Leave him alone, Na. Unlike you, some people prefer to keep their numbers a bit more private.” He scolds, but the tone is gentle, like Jeno always is.

Besides, Donghyuck’s never heard Jeno say anything even remotely hurtful to Jaemin - because they’re soulmates. One of a very select few soulmates in the entire school, and boy, does Na Jaemin want everyone to know it. The pair of them are a pretty rare case, as not many soulmates meet aged three, before they can even read the numbers they’ve been given. But Jeno and Jaemin gravitated towards each other regardless of the number, and it was only when they were eleven that they realised their numbers matched at all.

Jaemin thinks it’s the most epic love story to have ever graced the Earth.

But being a third wheel to Romeo and Juliet for so long had altered Donghyuck’s view of the whole system, just a little bit. Seeing their relationship evolve from the outside, from best friend love to boyfriend love, allowed him to see the crazy lengths they’ll go to for each other. The love Jeno and Jaemin have for each other is frankly, quite scary. Sometimes, it seems to make them lose all rationality, like Jeno would jump in front of a bullet for Jaemin, just because the number twisted around their ankle is the same. Donghyuck doesn’t want to be that way, losing all common sense for someone he didn’t even choose himself.

In fact, it was his desire to rebel against the patriarchy in general that led him to his current position as editor-in-chief of Central High School’s newspaper, _The Central Heartbeat._

Speaking of-

“I sorted through this month’s submissions by the way,” Jaemin says, dropping a memory stick in front of Donghyuck, who is completely zoned out, thinking about soulmates and such. Jaemin shoots Jeno a look, who shrugs and starts to prod at his pork cutlet. “… _You’re welcome._ ”

Jaemin is _also_ a member of _The Central Heartbeat._ He’s not doing it out of a desire to tear down the patriarchy though, he just wants extra credit.

“Oh, thanks.” Donghyuck finally tunes back in, picking up the memory stick.

The thing about _The Central Heartbeat_ is that it’s last paper copy was printed almost 10 years ago now, so what is called the school newspaper is actually just a glorified blog. Still, in the years since Donghyuck joined the (admittedly limited and entirely male) team, the hits have gone up 842% - and counting.

Donghyuck attributes this newfound popularity to his agony aunt column, wherein he replies to the concerns of usually anonymous members of the student body with advice, mixed in with appropriate levels of both humour and wit under the pseudonym _Not Just a Number_.

Jeno, who usually covers sports, but only really comes to the meetings because he’d be sitting around outside waiting for Jaemin anyway, would disagree. He thinks that the reason for the blog’s popularity is the coverage of Central High School’s basketball team. He (with the help of Jaemin) has recorded and reported on every single match played this season. His stalker levels and seemingly encyclopaedic knowledge of each player could rival even the most determined idol fangirl.

Which is why, when Jeno says he can’t make the match on Friday due to it being his sister’s birthday, Donghyuck knows it would be wrong of him to try and sweet talk him into ditching his family occasion.

It’s the first topic Donghyuck addresses at _The Central Heartbeat’s_ weekly meeting in the IT room. There aren’t many members– of course Donghyuck, Jeno and Jaemin, an artsy kid called Renjun who does the website designing, and two freshmen, Chenle and Jisung, who… well, no one’s really sure what exactly it is they do, but they come to every meeting, and Hyuck wants at least one or two freshmen to see the master at work so _The Central Heartbeat_ can live on after he graduates.

“So I’m gonna need someone to cover the basketball match on Friday this week. Any takers?” He asks, looking around the room. Everyone is carefully avoiding eye contact, either gazing at their notepad or computer screen or... soulmate. “Jaemin?”

“Uh, dude, I’m going to my future sister-in-law’s birthday dinner, remember?” He retorts, grabbing Jeno’s hand as if it’s proving a point or something.

“Oh, right,” Donghyuck can’t help his eye roll. He forgot soulmates had special privileges like that. “Jisung? Chenle?”

“Oh! We totally would-”And Donghyuck has his answer. “-but we’re on a residential field trip for a few days starting tomorrow…” Jisung informs them.

_(“Ooh cool, where you going, Jisung-ah?”_

_“It’s some kinda nature reserve where we like, measure leaves and oxygen levels and shit like that.” He shrugs._

_“Gonna be_ lit _!” Chenle chimes, then makes some strange noise and makes a gesture with his hands that probably means something to the woke kids._

_Renjun sighs, pushing his wide framed glasses up his nose.)_

“Renjun?” Donghyuck asks, wearing his most persuasive lip pout. Renjun’s a pretty pretentious kid. He looks angelic, his features delicate and curved, peachy pink lips and sparkly eyes and he almost always wears pastel. Behind his looks however, Renjun is, by Chenle’s account, ‘a real fucking savage’. Renjun never lets a matter as trivial as someone else’s feelings get in the way of him expressing his ‘opinion’.

In spite of all that, Donghyuck does kinda like Renjun. Sometimes. (He’s a pretty pretentious kid too).

“No way, Hyuck, sorry. I’m graphic design only.” And Renjun has, quite possibly, never sounded less sorry.

“Looks like _Not Just a Number_ ’s gonna have to step up, huh?” Jaemin grins, because they all know Donghyuck doesn’t know the first thing about basketball.

But before Donghyuck can formulate a sassy enough reply though, there’s a knock on the IT room door, which is weird because classes ended over half an hour ago, and most students (the ones with lives, Renjun would argue) would’ve left already.

A head pops round the door, and Donghyuck recognises the boy as a senior.

“Mark! You came!” Jeno exclaims, getting up and walking over to the door, where the senior, Mark, is still awkwardly lingering. “Thanks so much for this.”

“Oh… yeah man, it’s no problem,” he waves it off. Donghyuck notices one of his arms is tied up in a sling.

“Guys, this is Mark,” Jeno says, then quickly runs through the brief introductions of _The Central Heartbeat._ “Mark’s on the basketball team, he said he’d help out with whoever’s reporting the game on Friday.”

“Yeah,” Mark smiles. Donghyuck thinks Mark looks a little too short and a little too skinny to be on the basketball team, but he definitely has a friendly face. “I’m kinda out of action at the moment…” he laughs, gesturing to his arm in the sling.

“I can see that,” Donghyuck nods.

“Oh – right! Donghyuck’s doing the coverage of the game, Mark. You have your work cut out for you I’m afraid cos he knows fuck all about sport.”

“Hey! I bet I know more about rhythmic gymnastics than you, Lee Jeno!” He protests.

Around them, everyone else has turned back to whatever job it was they needed to complete. Mark rounds the table over to Donghyuck, glancing down at his computer screen and doing a double take. Donghyuck has his webpage open.

“Oh my god, are you _Not Just a Number_?” Mark asks in a tone where Donghyuck can’t tell if he’s laughing at him or incredulously.

“The one and only,” Donghyuck nods, dropping himself down on his chair.

“ _Dude_ , I feel like I’m meeting royalty right now. Most of the school reads that column,” He says, and it doesn’t even sound sarcastic and wow, Donghyuck is liking Mark more and more by the second.

“I – do they?” Donghyuck asks, trying very hard to supress his smile.

“I believe so, I mean, you give very good advice,” He nods, running a hand through his black hair as his eyes fall back on the screen, where a submission is open. “Mind if I…?”

“Oh, go ahead!”

Mark leans down so he’s eye level with the computer.

_Dear Not Just a Number,_

_My mom keeps telling me that everything I like is sinful. Make up? Sinful. Rap music? Sinful. Cute guys?_ Veryyyyy _sinful. I respect what she likes, and I think she should respect me too – but she keeps on telling me I’m going to go to hell. What can I do to make her stop?_

_Sincerely,_

_Sinner666._

“Oh, geez,” Mark mumbles, scratching his neck awkwardly. “Sounds intense.”

“Right?”

“So what you gonna say to that?”

Donghyuck smiles knowingly at Mark, then cracks his knuckles.

**_Dear 666,_ **

**_Tell your mom to cool it. You’re not going to hell, you’re already in it._ **

**_It’s called high school._ **

**_Not Just a Number_ **

Mark starts laughing, and it’s a strange (but not unpleasant) sound.

“Listen man, I gotta make a move, but I’ll meet you at the game on Friday?” Mark’s smile is oddly disarming. It seems kind of like you could punch him in the face and he’d say thank you. Not that Donghyuck can imagine anyone wanting to punch Mark in the face.

“I shall see you then,” Hyuck affirms, turning back to the task at hand.

_Dear Not Just a Number_

_I think I’m addicted to this column. Seriously, whenever I get out of class I’m straight on your blog to read the latest submission. How do I stop?_

_Love,_

_Can’t Stop Scrollin’._

****

**_Dear Scrollin’,_ **

**_You don’t._ **

**_Happy reading,_ **

**_Not Just A Number_ **

By the time Friday rolls around, Renjun’s managed to get the blog completely updated, and much to Donghyuck’s satisfaction, it’s getting more buzz than ever. He’s even had a couple of other freshmen approach him in hopes of joining _The Central Heartbeat_ ’s ranks, which is awesome, because that means there’ll be more people for him to delegate attending basketball games in Jeno’s stead.

Unfortunately though, today is not that day, and Donghyuck finds himself stumbling about over the bleachers looking for Mark’s face. It takes the best part of ten minutes, but he does eventually spot him, waving him over with his good arm.

“Hey!” Mark greets, patting the space beside him, making room. “You ready to learn something new about basketball?”

“Uh, no, not today Satan,” Donghyuck shudders, plucking out his camera for the livestream, and well as a notepad and pen, which he shoves in Mark’s direction. “I’ll do the livestream, and you can take the notes,” he instructs.

“Ya know, I would…” Mark says. Donghyuck narrows his eyes. “But I’m kinda left handed.”

It takes Donghyuck longer than he would like to admit to realise that this means Mark can’t write with his left arm in the cast.

“Oh, fabulous.” Donghyuck sighs.

Maybe today, Satan.

Hyuck laments for a moment to himself. Why have the stars aligned, just to make things as difficult for him as possible? “How’d you do that to yourself, anyway?”

“I didn’t,” Mark states, smile temporarily falling from his face. “ _That_ asshole did.” He points to a pretty tall guy at the side of the court in what Donghyuck recognises to be the away team colours. “We were supposed to be playing a friendly, but he came into my right side mid jump. He reckoned he didn’t see me but that’s bullshit. Landed on my arm and it hurt like a bitch. Plus, the cast won’t come off for at least two months, by which point the season will be over. I’m graduating this year too, so no more basketball for me. What’s worse, my college accepted me on a basketball scholarship. Now they said I need to find extra credit somewhere else, or else I won’t get accepted. I spent all my time either studying to get the best GPA or playing basketball, I never did anything extracurricular.”

For someone that seems so cheery, that sure does seem like some pretty major woes. If Donghyuck had problems that big, everyone would know about it.

“Oh, man. That really sucks, I’m sorry,” He says sincerely.

Donghyuck may not be the biggest fan of sport, but he sure does feel for Mark. It’s becomes pretty obvious that he loves basketball during the game, when he provides a rather unique and extremely enthusiastic commentary to the livestream. It makes life easier for Donghyuck too, who just has to write down whatever Mark says.

Central High School wins the game, too, and it’s pretty obvious Mark is satisfied the guy that landed him with a seat on the bleachers instead of the court is out of the tournament.

“Dya’know,” Hyuck says later, once they’re out of the electrical atmosphere and walking towards the bus stop. “If you wanted extra credit, the _Heartbeat_ could be an option for you. I’m more than satisfied for you to help Jeno with sport.”

Mark’s eyebrows raise in interest, like he hadn’t even considered a school newspaper could be counted as extra credit.

“That’s the whole reason Jaemin does it, anyway…” he adds, glancing down to his feet.

“Yes, yeah! I mean,” Mark clears his throat. “I mean that would be cool, thanks, Donghyuck.”

Hyuck just smiles, as though this isn’t part of his evil plan to recruit more and more unsuspecting students through the guise of extra credit. That, and that Mark has a face he certainly wouldn’t mind seeing around from time to time.

“Oh, by the way,” He continues. “I read your column this week.”

“Oh?” Hyuck asks, somewhat taken aback, but preparing himself for praise.

“Yeah, the one with the girl who likes the guy who isn’t her soulmate…” he trails off, but when Hyuck doesn’t say anything he continues, “and I was thinking… is it a good idea to tell people to like, actively avoid their soulmate?”

Oh, so Mark’s one of those.

“I never said to actively avoid anyone.” Donghyuck points out, defensiveness activated. “I just said that I, for one, won’t let someone else decide what my happiness looks like.”

“You did…” Mark acknowledges, and there’s silence for a moment. “But would you really throw away a guaranteed chance of true love just to spite the system?”

“Haha, Mark Lee, I don’t think you know me very well yet.”

Mark’s kicking the gravel, eyes on the ground.

“Hm, not yet,” He agrees, thankfully leaving the soulmate talk at that.

_To Not Just a Number,_

_There’s a guy I like. I’ll call him… Han. Anyway, Han says he likes me too, but here’s the thing: Han never calls me. I call him, like, five times a day, and text him at least double that and try to facetime him at least twice. But Han NEVER calls, texts or anything. How am I supposed to keep in touch with him if he won’t call me back? Please help._

_Han’s Neglected Girlfriend_

**_Dear Neglected_ **

**_The reason Han is not calling, texting, facetiming etc is because YOU NEVER GIVE HIM THE CHANCE! The poor guy, it sounds like you’re stalking him. Remember the nursery rhyme Little Bo Peep? Well, there’s a grain of truth in that nursery rhyme. Leave Han alone, and he’ll come home. And well, if he doesn’t, perhaps Han is trying to tell you something…_ **

**_Not Just a Number_ **

“And with that in mind, Chenle, I don’t think it’s appropriate for absolutely _everything_ in the fashion page to be Gucc-”

“Sorry I’m late!” The door to the IT room slams shut behind Mark. Donghyuck’s head whips up, confused for a moment until he remembers that he _told_ Mark to come here.

“Hey, don’t worry, we were just getting started,” He smiles, and it’s not like him to downplay his minions tardiness, but he’ll let it slide for Mark for now. He just hopes the other guys don’t notice the preferential treatment. (On Chenle’s first week, when he showed up late, Hyuck sent him to Starbucks to buy everyone americanos.) “Take a seat.”

“Yo man! Nice job at the game!” Jeno calls, reaching out to do some kind of bro handshake that only guys that play sport ever seem to do. “Did you guys see the reaction to Mark’s commentary on the livestream last week? The viewers _loved_ it!” He asks, swivelling around on his wheely chair. “Wait – if Mark’s joining, maybe he could take over basketball so I have more time to write about the football team?”

“And make out with his boyfriend!” Jaemin chimes, eyes not leaving the article he’s writing.

Jeno flushes pink, but knows better than to contest. “Right.”

“Well, I don’t see a problem with that. Jeno, can you show him the basics of the site then?” Donghyuck says, to which – you guessed it – Mark smiles.

Honestly, Donghyuck hasn’t really thought much about Mark since the game, but the conversation they had on the way to the bus stop keeps playing on his mind.

‘True love’ Mark had called it.

_Dear Not Just A Number,_

_I am a great fan of your column and wanted to tell you I completely agree with your stance on soulmates. Why shouldn’t I get to pick my own soulmate? How do we even know the system works, or that we only have soulmate?_

_I absolutely detest my number, so I have made the decision to get a tattoo over it to hide the numbers. Could I convince you, or any of our other comrades, to do the same?_

_Love, Branded Like Cattle_

“Woah, guys,” Donghyuck sits back in his chair, eyes scanning over the words once again so he can be sure he read that right. “Check this out. I have to take credit for this.”

Jaemin reads the submission, brows furrowing, followed by Jeno, Mark and Renjun. After only a couple of weeks of being on the team, Mark has surprised everyone by how quickly he took to what could (loosely) be described as sports journalism.

“Uh, I think you mean blame.” Renjun says flatly.

“Looks like some of the readers are actually listening to me!” Donghyuck grins.

Renjun just rolls his eyes, sliding his chair back over to his desk. “Comrades? That guy sounds like a fucking Marxist.” (Beside him, Chenle mumbles something about the fact they are, indeed, Chinese.)

“Shit, isn’t that a little drastic though…?” Jeno cautions.

“Uh, it’s a lot drastic actually,” Jaemin reprimands, smacking Donghyuck on the shoulder. “Hyuck! You can’t seriously tell the kid that’s a good idea. Your batshit crazy ideology is one thing, but an actual tattoo is like…”

“Illegal?” Jeno supplies.

“Yes! Illegal!”

“My ideology isn’t batshit crazy, Jaemin. If people like me don’t protest the system then we’ll never be able to tear down-”

“The _patriarchy_ , yes, we know.” Renjun nods, eyes tired, before turning back to the software he’s been attempting to reinstall for the last thirty minutes.

“Well at least the message is- Na, why are you glaring at me like that?” Hyuck sighs.

Jaemin doesn’t blink.

“I’m hoping you’ll spontaneously combust.”

“Look,” Jeno sighs, raising his hands between them and looking rather resigned. “Why don’t you let Mark write the response to that one, hm? And let them know _The Central Heartbeat_ doesn’t condone illegal activity.”

“Yeah,” Jaemin agrees after a moment. “The submissions may be anonymous, but you, Mr Not Just a Number, are somewhat easier to track down – and we don’t want the principal knocking on our door. Besides, I need this damn newspaper for my college application.” He runs his hand back through his hair and walks back over to his desk, mumbling something about the tattoo and how Donghyuck is going to cause him to age prematurely, Jeno following behind, reaching up to rub a hand on his back soothingly.

It's just Mark left, awkwardly hunched half down over Donghyuck where he was reading the submission. Once their attention returns to each other, he shuffles away to return to a less invasive distance.

“I don’t… I mean, I’m not sure I’m a great advice giver,” Mark scratches the back of his head. “But I think not breaking the law is pretty solid advice, ya know. Like my grandma always told me – ‘Don’t break the law and try not to die, Minhyung.’” His tone is only half joking, as though he’s unsure how Hyuck will react.

“Maybe your grandma should be writing this column.” Donghyuck replies, and it comes out meaner sounding than he intended it – something he instantly regrets at the falter of Mark’s expression. “I mean- I can appreciate that, I really can,” he backtracks, eyes flickering between Mark and the submission. “It’s just, this paper, this column, it really feels like the only way I can make a difference about things I’m really passionate about, you know?”

When Hyuck looks up to read Mark’s face, he seems conflicted, too, so he keeps talking.

“Kind of like, watching a basketball game, knowing what the score will be, and not being able to change it – even though you were there before the game even started, you just know that you’re supporting the losing team, even though they at least deserve a chance.” He equates, eyes drifting down to Mark’s arm.

Mark smirks ever so slightly, no laugh but he puffs air out through his nostrils. “Do you think communicating with me in basketball talk is the only way I’ll understand you?”

Hyuck pauses for a moment and bites his lip. “Would you be offended if I said yes?”

To his relief, Mark just smiles and shakes his head, hands reaching forward so he can pull the keyboard towards himself.

**_Dear Branded,_ **

**_Whilst I’m very impressed by your passion for the cause and flattered by your submission, I would advise against doing anything that could be deemed as – well, illegal._ **

**_Of course, you can pick your own soulmate, and remember, you have no obligation to share your digits with society if you choose not to! But yeah, please readers, don’t tattoo yourself, don’t do drugs, have unprotected sex, cheat on your finals… you know, just don’t do anything I wouldn’t do._ **

**_Love, Not Just A Number_ **

“I’d so do all those things.” Hyuck mumbles to himself.

(Evidently, Mark catches it, and laughs as though he’s joking.)


	2. two

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> True to his word, Mark arrives at Donghyuck’s house right on time, textbook tucked under his good arm and smiling so brightly that you wouldn’t think he was here to spend the evening tutoring calculus. Mark sure must like math. Or maybe it’s Donghyuck he likes, who knows – Hyuck’s certainly not opposed to a little optimism from time to time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> it only took me three months !

Donghyuck has always known he wanted to go into media post high school. It’s what led him to his position as chairman at _The Heartbeat_ and what _will_ lead him to New Central Tech University in the fall next year.

But he and math don’t get along so well, and the big fat red E branded on the front of his most recent calculus exam is almost taunting him. It seems the only thing standing between him and journalism at NCTU is the integral of x over x squared, whatever the heck that is.

Luckily for him though, his new friend and colleague Mark Lee knows almost as much about gradients and integrals as Donghyuck does about rhythmic gymnastics.

( _“I’m begging you, please help me out. This could totally be another way to get the extra credit you need, right?”_

_When he batters his eyelashes, Mark momentarily falters, then recomposes himself._

_“Begging?” He chuckles. “I feel like if you were begging you’d be down on your knees though.”_

_And Mark’s mind obviously doesn’t travel to the same place as Donghyuck’s, whose cheeks colour slightly pink._

_“Stop acting as if you don’t already know I’m going to say yes, at least.”)_

You see, Donghyuck is starting to have a problem. One that’s almost as scary as calculus. And that problem has a broken arm and smiles a lot.

Because whilst Hyuck, in theory, welcomes the possibility of liking someone that isn’t his soulmate, being faced with the prospect is a little different. Mark has openly expressed his desire to find his soulmate on more than one occasion, and Hyuck isn’t too sure how he feels about that.

(Not to mention Hyuck has never experienced any kind of self-doubt to this magnitude in his living memory. Was it not almost this exact same problem someone had sent to him weeks ago? The answer seemed plain and simple back then.)

But he might be getting ahead of himself, just a little.

_Dear Not Just a Number_

_I think I’m in love with my best friend, but I know he doesn’t see me that way. He asks me for dating advice (even though he knows I’ve always been single) and has even dated a few of our friends. I want to tell him I like him, but I don’t want to make things weird between us._

_We’re practically joint at the hip, and I’m terrified he won’t want to know me anymore. I couldn’t stand it if we weren’t friends, he kinda means everything to me._

_Yours faithfully,_

_Crushing on Stupid._

****

**_Dear Crushing,_ **

**_I have news for you: you’re not friends now. You can’t be friends with someone you have a crush on._ **

**_So you have a choice: either decide that as a couple the two of you just aren’t meant to be – or ask him point blank why he’s dated so many of your friends (and not you). Either he’ll mumble something incoherent (in which case you’ll know he’s not attracted to you) – or, he’ll say ‘I never knew you were interested!’ and ask you._ **

**_Sorry that answer kinda sucks to hear, but Crushing, if you never ask, you’ll never know!_ **

**_Sincerely, Not Just A Number_ **

True to his word, Mark arrives at Donghyuck’s house right on time, textbook tucked under his good arm and smiling so brightly that you wouldn’t think he was here to spend the evening tutoring calculus. Mark sure must like math. Or maybe it’s Donghyuck he likes, who knows – Hyuck’s certainly not opposed to a little optimism from time to time.

And he was right in thinking he wouldn’t be able to concentrate, let alone learn anything, when Mark is so close and smelling so nice. He doesn’t even know how long it’s been since he stopped looking at the problem and just started staring at Mark’s side profile instead. It’s not even like he’s Donghyuck’s type, but he’s a unique type of handsome, he thinks - especially when he’s talking about math, for some reason. But then again, it’s easy to be impressed by things you don’t understand, and Hyuck doesn’t have a clue what he’s on about.

“So once you’ve found the gradient you can- Hyuck? Are you even listening?”

Hearing his name pulls Donghyuck right out of whatever dream world he was in and back into reality, where Mark’s deep brown eyes are searching his face. Clearly, he already knows the answer to his own question, and lets out an extended sigh.

“Ugh,” Donghyuck whines once he returns to his senses. “Can’t we take a break?”

Mark looks at him, incredulous. “It’s only been twenty minutes.”

“Well, I read once that you should take a break every twenty minutes,” he shrugs, sitting back in his chair and folding his arms in a way that couldn’t really be argued with.

“The person that said that probably wasn’t failing calculus,” Mark points out.

And Donghyuck has the gall to smirk as he gets up and walks over from his desk to the bed, dropping down on top of his covers. “Exactly.”

Mark sighs once again, more resigned this time, and follows him over to the bed anyway. “Is there ever a time when you’re not a smart-ass?” Despite his words, the tone is warm. Maybe even affectionate, if Hyuck was employing a little more of that optimism.

“Well, sometimes I’m asleep.”

He eyes Mark carefully. A few weeks ago, it seemed Mark had been treading on eggshells, as though he’d been reluctant to say anything that could even remotely offend him, but they seem to have reached a new level of friendship now. Or perhaps watching Jaemin hurl insults at him like it’s going out of fashion has made Mark realise Hyuck has a pretty thick skin. Either way, they’re getting to know each other better.

Mark nods as though he’d expected nothing less of an answer, spinning his pen with his good hand and leaning so he’s lying on his front. There’s a pause for a moment.

“I thought you wanted to go to New Central next year?” he says quietly, eyes leaving the pen to meet Donghyuck’s gaze on him.

“I mean, yeah, I do,” Hyuck nods, but he can’t hold eye contact. Something about the way Mark is looking at him right now makes him feel vulnerable, and it’s a foreign feeling at best. He suddenly finds the edge of his bed cover very interesting instead.

“Then you should study.” Mark drops the pen on Hyuck’s stomach. “I’m going to NCTU too, in the fall.” He explains. “If you study hard, and you get in, then I’ll show you around. Then you won’t have to be a clueless college freshman like I’ll be in September.” He smiles softly.

“I-” Confusion sets in. If Mark already had college admission, why the hell was he here? “You got in? I thought the tutoring was for extra credit?”

“Of course not, you idiot.” Mark laughs, that strange but pleasant bubble of noise, picking the pen back up to flick it at him. “Actually… they were really impressed with _The Central Heartbeat_ , believe it or not. So I guess I do kind of owe you,” he clarifies, and Hyuck’s heart does sink just a little. He’d hoped for a moment that Mark was here just because. Just because he could be, not because he owed him anything. “… and despite your smart-ass tendencies, I kind of like spending time with you.”

Oh.

Donghyuck is so overwhelmed by the compliment that he even overlooks the ‘tendencies’ part. He can feel his cheeks heating up, and it’s all he can do to hope they’re not turning pink.

“Wow, I never thought I’d see the day you had nothing to say. I’m so telling Jeno about this one.” Mark grins.

“Like hell you will,” Donghyuck groans, collecting his composure. “Actually, I do have something to say.” Mark’s head perks up like a meerkat, peering at Hyuck inquisitively. “You’re such a nerd, Mark Lee. Tutoring math just for fun.”

Mark’s head falls back down.

“Yeah,” he agrees in a mumble, “I guess so.”

“Besides, Jeno’s not got much in his head but basketball and Na Jaemin - most of what anyone says to him these days gets pretty lost in translation.”

Mark sits back up again, shifting the bed so the cover slips from Hyuck’s grasp. “I guess that’s what it’s like to have a soulmate.” He comments casually, like he’s talking about the weather or something. But soulmate talk, no matter how casual, always pricks Hyuck’s ears up. “They met when they were really young, right?”

Mindlessly, Hyuck runs his fingers over his sleeve, ghosting over his number. “Yeah, they were three. Didn’t find the numbers on their ankles until they were in middle school though.”

“Ankles, huh? That’s a pretty unique place to have your number.” Mark notes. Most people have their number somewhere more obvious, like their arm or back.

“You think?” Hyuck wonders aloud. He supposes it is. “So where’s yours?” He asks.

And it can be a kind of sensitive question sometimes – asking where someone’s number is. He knows he doesn’t usually like to divulge that information, or talk about numbers at all for that matter, but for some reason he feels like it’s okay with Mark.

Across from him, Mark carefully uses his good hand to untie his sling, freeing the cast as he carefully extends his elbow back and forth once or twice. He taps at the hard bandaging on his left forearm with the pen.

“Under here.” He admits. Subconsciously, Hyuck’s fingers wrap around his own left forearm – a common place for a number, of course, but still, quite the coincidence. “It’s been weird not seeing it for a while. I even thought about writing it on the cast, but then I realised that might make me seem a bit desperate to find them.”

An uncomfortable feeling settles in Donghyuck’s stomach. Maybe that’s enough soulmate talk for one day.

“Can I draw on it?” Hyuck asks tentatively. “The cast, I mean. I’ll decorate it nicely.” He promises.

“Only if you swear not to draw a cock and balls,” Mark conditions, but he’s already holding out the pen.

Hyuck grins, then gets to work.

_Dear Not Just a Number_

_I have a problem. There’s a really cute guy that sits in front of me in AP Chem, and I can’t stop staring at him in classes. This has been going on since the beginning of the semester, and no matter how hard I try I just can’t concentrate. How do I forget about him? I really need to pass this class._

_Distracted By That Criminally Sharp Jawline_

****

**_Dear Distracted,_ **

**_Why don’t you ask him to tutor you?_ **

**_Sincerely,_ **

**_Not Just A Number_ **

****

The chic new design on Mark’s cast doesn’t go unnoticed at the next _Heartbeat_ meeting.

“Oh god, looks like you’ve been attacked by a two year old,” Renjun, in his baby pink beret and baby blue neck tie, comments as soon as he claps eyes on it, much to Donghyuck’s displeasure. The length of Mark’s cast is decorated with swirling patterns from top to bottom, with small, cursive font at the base, signed LDH.

“At least he doesn’t look like one,” Hyuck tuts.

As Injun gaze finds the initials, he clicks his tongue. “You should’ve let me, I could’ve painted something cool like the infinity gauntlet.”

And even though even Donghyuck himself can admit an infinity gauntlet cast sounds pretty cool, Mark just holds his arm out even more and says “Well, I like it like this.” And for some reason, Hyuck feels warm pride emanating from his chest.

The moment is cut short as Jaemin makes his grand entrance into the IT room, door swinging back with significant force. As usual, Jeno saunters in behind him. Not as usual, so does an extremely handsome boy with sharp features and dark brows.

“What’s up bitches?” Jaemin greets(?), throwing his backpack down at his usual computer seat. Recognition seems to rise in Mark’s features as his eyes leave the cast. “We got a new recruit, this is-”

“Dejun? Yo man,” He grins, reaching over to do his little bro handshake with the boy- Dejun, presumably a senior- that he’s never greeted Hyuck with before. “What are you doing here, bro?”

The senior – Dejun – opens his mouth to respond but is cut off by Jaemin.

“We’re expanding, guys! Dejun’s going to be setting up the first official Heartbeat _podcast!_ Isn’t that awesome?” He grins.

`There’s mixed reactions across the room. Jeno and Jaemin are beaming, Dejun and Mark remain neutral, Chenle looks confused and Renjun wears his default expression of disdainful resignation. Hyuck probably looks like he’s about to burst a blood vessel, given this is the first he’s hearing of it. Apparently, Jaemin hadn’t felt the need to run it by him first.

To be fair, the _Heartbeat_ is in need of some new material. Traffic on the website has been down lately, and since the principal cut the budgets to extracurriculars, the ads they run are now the primary source of income to keep the club afloat.

“Oh really?” Donghyuck raises a brow. “and when was that decided?”

Jaemin folds his arms across his chest. “When you were too busy with your ‘tutoring’ to answer my calls.” Donghyuck doesn’t read too much into the curl at the corner of Jaemin’s mouth as he says it, although it irks him.

“Oh, I wasn’t too busy. I saw it ring. I just didn’t want to talk to you so I stared at the screen until it stopped so I could continue playing Candy Crush.”

Beside them, Dejun coughs awkwardly.

Mark has been around long enough now to understand the power dynamic within the _Heartbeat_ , and after a quick assessment, raises his hand between them.

“That sounds like a great idea. We should let them get to it, right? Hyuck, don’t you have some submissions to go through?”

Donghyuck sighs, reaching out to shake Dejun’s hand the way Jeno and Mark always do. Jisung calls it the Bro-Shake. Hyuck calls it the Top-Shake, but he hasn’t told Jisung that for fear of traumatising him.

Remembering the bigger picture of his beloved school newspaper-slash-blog, he nods, “Welcome to the team, man.”

“Thanks,” Dejun smiles brightly (and it could be either because of the fade in tension or at the apparent acceptance offered by the Bro-Shake) as Hyuck slides himself into the seat beside Chenle and shoves his USB into the monitor there.

(“Injun! Would you give us a hand with this recording equipment?” Hyuck hears Jaemin calling across the room a little later.

“Huh, well…” Renjun doesn’t even grant them the curtesy of spinning around in his chair. “To quote Hamlet, act III, scene iii, line 87,” His head finally tilts enough for Jaemin to see his face, smiling sweetly. “No.”)

After writing the response to eight submissions, Donghyuck is pretty spent. It’s also noticeably quieter in the meeting room today, despite the addition of Dejun to the group, and it’s taken him until now to out his finger exactly on why.

“Hey, Chenle, where’s Jisung?” he asks as he plucks his USB from the computer.

Chenle looks a little out of place without his usual lanky companion, and his energy seems somewhat lacking. He turns and smiles softly, but it doesn’t meet his eyes. Hyuck hasn’t seen him look that down since that day he told him Santa wasn’t real. (Quite the shock).

“I’m not sure. He texted me to say something came up and he’s sorry he can’t come today,” He shrugs, running a finger over the screen of his phone.

“Huh, that’s unlike him.” Hyuck acknowledges. Perhaps it’s a little presumptuous of Hyuck to assume that Jisung literally has no social life outside of Chenle, the _Heartbeat_ and his dance troupe, but he’s never missed a meeting before.

“Yeah, and it’s not just that. He’s been a bit weird in general lately,” Chenle admits, spinning round on his chair a little.

“How so?”

Apparently, solving other people’s problems when he can’t even deal with his own is just something Donghyuck just cannot resist.

“Like, quieter, I guess. I mean I know he’s not normally _loud_ or anything, but it’s like… reserved. He just doesn’t joke about or say as much as he used to. I wonder if I did something to upset him.” He pouts.

Hyuck may be a cynic but even he knows deep down in his heart that Chenle would never maliciously do something to anyone, let alone the boy who is clearly his favourite person on earth. It’s not nice to see. Having said that, he wouldn’t put it past Chenle to be completely ignorant to something Jisung has been overthinking. He puts this suggestion forward, and Chenle’s expression shifts to innocent befuzzlement.

“Huh… well, Jisung overthinks everything. Sometimes he’s even late because he couldn’t decide what to have for breakfast, you know? If I deeped everything he overthought, we’d never even get to school. I guess that’s why I don’t usually play into all that stuff, too much. And usually he gets over it. Until the next morning, anyway. Then it’s all, ‘Damn, I should’ve had toast’ all over again.”

Hyuck raises his brow, kind of lost. He can’t help but feel Chenle may have slightly missed his point. “Do you think he’s upset over toast?”

Chenle’s mouth falls half open, awkwardly. “Uh… it was… a metaphor, or something?”

“Right,” Hyuck nods although he’s still a bit confused. “Well, have you perhaps thought of asking him what’s up?” He suggests.

All of a sudden, Chenle’s eyes light up as though Donghyuck has just solved tensions in the Middle East, not suggested he figure out what’s wrong with his friend by _asking_ him. He clicks his tongue, gesticulating wildly.

“This… this is why you’re _Not Just A Number_ ,” Chenle acknowledges. And Hyuck is more than happy to accept the compliment. He just wants to go home, after all.

After finally figuring out how to use the recording equipment, Jaemin, Jeno and Dejun head out at the same time as Donghyuck that night. Jaemin and Jeno chat to each other arm in arm whilst Hyuck and Dejun walk behind, and he is left to observe Dejun’s side profile, which is truly a masterpiece. Dark brows, a high nose bridge, angular cheekbones… and a particularly sharp jawline. One might even say criminally sharp.

(And Donghyuck is amused to learn, upon asking, that Dejun sits in the front row of AP Chem.)

_Dear Not Just a Number_

_Math is so hard. Help._

_Love, Destined for failure_

****

**_Dear Destined,_ **

**_Ask your teacher. I solve people problems, not mathematical ones._ **

**_Sincerely,_ **

**_Not Just A Number_ **

Donghyuck is so invested in the single drop of sweat currently making it’s way down Mark’s neck that he almost misses when Mark says it. He’s been reading over the practice questions Hyuck has been doing this week, his unofficial homework from Mark to improve, for the last few minutes.

“This is… right.” He states, stunned, looking up at Donghyuck with wide eyes. “You got most of them right.”

Donghyuck might’ve taken offence at that tone if he wasn’t so shocked himself, either. He grabs the paper off him, finger following along the numbers where Mark has left small ticks after each step.

“Seriously?”

“Seriously.”

When he looks up again, Mark’s smile has spread from ear to ear. Then out of nowhere, they’re both laughing, more and more and more. The kind of laughter where your jaw hurts from laughing so hard. The kind of laughter where all Hyuck can really muster is a wheeze.

When Donghyuck first met Mark, he remembers thinking his laugh was a little strange, but now, it might just be his favourite sound.

And when they’re just about done laughing for no reason at all, Mark smile softens as he says “I’m proud of you, you know.”

Hyuck could melt at the sincerity. It’s definitely hot enough in here, anyway.

“Thank you. For helping me, I mean.” He smiles back, followed by an extended pause.

Mark drops everything down on the desk and makes his way over to Donghyuck’s bed, spreading starfish on top of the covers.

“Yeah, you actually don’t deserve any of the credit.” Mark teases, although he’s not very good at it. “It was _all_ me and my amazing tutoring skills,” he props himself up on his good elbow, smirking, “so I guess now you’ll have to figure out a way to make it up to me.”

God. Donghyuck needs to rinse his thoughts in holy water. Or bleach. Or both.

The statement serves to remind him once again how hot it is in his bedroom today. Whilst Mark is still sweating in just shorts and a t shirt, Hyuck still hasn’t taken his jacket off. No matter how hot it is, Hyuck prefers to keep his number hidden when with company.

Perhaps Mark’s thoughts go to the same place (unlikely), because once it’s clear Donghyuck isn’t going to reply with some snarky comment, he says “Aren’t you warm?”

And heck, isn’t Donghyuck all about liberation? About doing what you want, not what someone else has dictated? Damn, he _is_ warm, he’s freaking boiling and why should _he_ be sweating it up like a hooker in church when his number doesn’t define him, right?

At least, that’s the thought process going on when he looks at Mark and says, “Yeah.” before stripping his jacket off, leaving him in just a thin white tee.

Liberating. Is this what girls feel like when they don’t shave their legs? Perhaps.

As he joins Mark on his bed for what has become their routine, a sort of debrief chat before Mark goes home, Donghyuck belatedly realises his sudden mastery of calculus could potentially mean the end of their tutoring sessions.

Mark doesn’t give him too long to dwell on it, though.

“So, I had an idea for the _Heartbeat_ ,” he begins, although he says it less like he’s had an idea for the _Heartbeat_ and more like he’s about to tell Donghyuck he just broke his favourite mug (the one that says _Keep Calm, I’m a Gemini_ ).

“ _Okay_ …”Hyuck narrows his eyes. “Shoot.”

“But you’re not gonna like it.”

“Try me.”

But Mark’s right – Donghyuck isn’t going to like it. Not one bit. Because the thing Mark is suggesting is an event at the _Heartbeat_ where students send in their number anonymously to find out if their soulmate is also a member of the student body. Then they would post on the website whether certain numbers had a match or not, creating unheard of traction to _The Central Heartbeat_ ’s homepage and potentially increasing their advertisement revenue tenfold.

Donghyuck blinks. Mark is practically asking him to sell his _soul_ just to be able to keep paying for their website domain. Keep the _Heartbeat_ running, or go against everything he’s been trying to achieve with it. God, it’s like Sophie’s choice.

“I can’t believe you’re suggesting that to me, honestly,” Donghyuck despairs, head in hands. “You know how I feel about all that. I don’t want to date my ‘soulmate’, and I think other people should follow their hearts when it comes to love, not just a number on their goddamn arm.”

When Mark doesn’t say anything, Hyuck looks up… to see Mark’s eyes fixated on the black scrawl of his left forearm. By the time he can snap his fingers over the digits (so much for liberation, but it’s just reflex), Mark has already seen it, although he looks more like he’s just seen a ghost.

“Mark?” He asks, when the silence continues.

“H-huh?” Mark mutters, finally appearing to come back to reality. His eyes snap to Donghyuck. “Uh – you know, forget I said anything.” He rushes.

“I – what?”

“It was a dumb idea. You’re right. We shouldn’t get people to send in their numbers. They’re really – really… best off not knowing, right? Let’s forget about it.”

Donghyuck sits up on the bed, still holding his right hand over his forearm whilst observing Mark’s expression and that peculiar 180 had just made. For whatever reason, the atmosphere has shifted to something akin to awkwardness, and despite Mark’s inherent tendency towards awkwardness, its definitely unusual between the two of them.

It’s at that precise moment, that Na Jaemin, like an angel sent from heaven, decides to call. Donghyuck is all too quick to press the answer button, and flicks him on speaker immediately.

“Hyuck?” Jaemin’s tinny voice fills the bedroom.

“Hey Na, what-”

“We have a problem.”

And Hyuck takes a deep breath as he watches Mark Lee’s nose scrunch up and head fall back on his pillow, because that sir, is quite the understatement.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> h(ouston)yuck, we have a problem..


	3. three

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “So we’re pimping Chenle now?”
> 
> “Not pimping – exploiting,” Hyuck corrects Jaemin, who’s staring at him disbelievingly.
> 
> “That-” Jaemin points out. “-is most definitely worse.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> welcome (back) ! if i wrote and rewrote this until i was happy it might never see the light of day, but markhyuck doesn't deserve that, so let's get this ship sailing !

“Well, this is bad.” Renjun comments, leaning back into his chair.

“You said that already.” Jaemin points out from the other side of the circle of currently gathered _Central Heartbeat_ members, before going back to chewing on the inside of his cheek again.

Renjun eyes him dryly. “It seemed worth repeating.”

Beside him, Jisung winces as Chenle noisily slurps his iced americano, cutting through the stumped silence of the _Heartbeat_ members.

So far, the emergency club meeting this afternoon was making little progress.

Whilst no one would say it outright, everyone here would most likely agree that yes, this is pretty bad. Including himself and their newest recruit Dejun, Donghyuck counts a total of eight faces in their club. And see, according to the principal, starting next month, any club without _minimum_ twelve members will be dissolved – no funding, no access to the IT software, and perhaps most importantly, no credit on their college transcripts. And that gives them approximately a week and a half to somehow convince at least four people to join. Donghyuck simply does not have the room in his schedule for a crisis of this magnitude right now.

At least now he understood _y=mx+c_ , he could use it to calculate the slope of how downhill his life was suddenly turning.

“Maybe it isn’t so bad,” Ah, Lee Jeno. Ever the optimist, even if it was usually misplaced. “They don’t need to be part of the club _forever,_ just until we can hook in some unsuspecting freshmen before the end of the year? Surely between the eight of us we have another four friends, right?”

Renjun, Jaemin and Donghyuck all look at Jeno pitifully, and considering that between the three of them they possess the sharpest tongues and biggest mouths on campus, it’s quite a feat that none of them say anything at all.

The continued silence that follows does little to comfort Donghyuck.

“Oh, my god. My poor newspaper!” He can’t help but despair. The four walls of the IT room have truly never felt more suffocating.

Jaemin clicks his tongue. “First of all, you’re not the only person that cares about this club, Lee Donghyuck,” he chastises, before allowing his expression to mellow out completely as he turns to Jeno, resting a hand on his knee, “Secondly, babe, it’s harder than you would think to convince high schoolers to spend their spare time working for free.”

Jeno wrinkles his nose a little. “Well, I’m the one that brought in Dejun,” he points out as though Dejun isn’t sitting right beside him. “And Mark agreed with practically no resistance.”

“ _I didn’t really have much choice,”_

_“Yeah, but Mark’s a nerd.”_

Donghyuck and Mark talk over each other at the same time. The look that Mark shoots him pretty much lacks any trace of malice, so the main thought that registers somewhere in the back of Hyuck’s mind is that he looks particularly handsome today, even if there is worry knitted across his features. He doesn’t know if he’s imagining it, but lately it’s felt like the looks Mark sends him are lasting just a few seconds longer than they used to. Hyuck would love to say they seemed more affectionate too, but the look feels more akin to the way he would stare at a calculus problem, thinking about how he would solve it before he even starts to write.

“Yeah, fair enough,” Jeno nods, though no one knows which statement he’s agreeing with. “And Dejun only joined because-”

“Because I _really_ admire the work you guys do here!” Dejun hastily and overenthusiastically interrupts, making suspicious eyes at Jeno.

“ _Right_ ,” Jeno agrees, dragging it out in a way that suggests that’s not the reason at all. It’s true that Dejun joined quite suddenly and with little explanation as to why he’d voluntarily spend his afternoons here, and while that would usually intrigue Donghyuck, right now there are more pressing matters.

“Guys, are you seriously saying you don’t know anyone, anyone _at all_ , that you could even try to convince?” Mark asks again, still in partial disbelief that seemingly besides him and Jeno, no one’s social circle appears to extend out of the room they are currently sat in.

You'd think the blank stares would be enough of an answer.

“Please, continue to highlight that.” Renjun rubs at his temple.

“I mean, I know a couple of people I could ask…”

It takes Donghyuck a moment to even process that Jisung has spoken, considering he rarely contributes, and another, slightly longer moment to process that Jisung has other friends.

Jaemin doesn’t seem to bother containing his surprise either. “Really, who?”

“Just… friends from dance.” He explains. Hyuck can’t help but notice the slight pout of Chenle’s bottom lip against the straw of his coffee. “I think one guy would be up for it, at least until we can find a replacement, like Jeno said.”

Donghyuck feels a ripple in his chest. Is that… hope? Well, it’s either that or the stress of running this club has finally manifested itself physically in the form of a mini ischaemic stroke. The Advil he took at lunch was definitely wearing off, anyhow.

“Ok… ok, this is good.” He nods. “So that’s one. Anyone else?”

“Actually,” Renjun begins, screwing his face up and looking like it pains him to admit it. “I kinda do know someone…”

“Great!” Jaemin chimes enthusiastically. “Why didn’t you say so?”

Renjun sighs, tilting his head and scratching at the back of his neck. “Because he’s completely neurotic and even having him in this room probably violates like six health and safety regulations. But mostly because he does my head in.”

Jeno shrugs, which is fair enough – it’s not like it takes much to rile Renjun. He knows this first hand, from the time he made a snarky comment about the doodles on Renjun’s notebook, only to find all the wires at the back of his computer were swapped at the next meeting. “You’d say that about any of us.”

Renjun just laughs sardonically, tongue darting out to wet his peachy lower lip. “You’ll see.”

“Okay, that’s two then.” A further pause follows Donghyuck’s statement, and it seems they genuinely don’t have any other possible recruits. “Right, new approach – has anyone considered bribery?”

Mark groans, face planting in his hands.

“At this rate, you’re gonna need five recruits because I’m on the verge of yeeting myself outta here, man. Some of us have places to be, you know.” Chenle warns before polishing off the last of his coffee obnoxiously loudly.

Hyuck narrows his eyes. “How about you then, _man_? Haven’t you dated like half of freshman year? Surely you could convince one of them?” Donghyuck gently suggests.

“So we’re pimping Chenle now?”

“Not pimping – _exploiting_ ,” He corrects Jaemin, who’s staring at him disbelievingly.

“That-” Jaemin points out. “-is most definitely worse.”

“Well, Donghyuck is a master in exploitation. He literally got Mark to tutor him for free, right, just by-” But Jeno never manages to reach the end of that sentence before Donghyuck is cutting him off, although not in the way Jeno may have expected when accusing him of corruption.

“Oh my god – that’s it!” Donghyuck exclaims. “Jeno, you’re a genius!”

Jeno eyes widen. “I… am?”

But Donghyuck’s gaze is honed in on Mark, and if his reaction is anything to go by, he can already see the mischievous glint in Hyuck’s eye.

“I have a plan.”

_Dear Not Just a Number_

_The guy I like is really great. Tall, handsome, athletic, and also really kind and popular. Sometimes I think he likes me, other times I think he’s just nice to everyone. How can I tell if he actually likes me, or if he just sees me the same as everyone else? I’m total trash for him._

_Faithfully,_

_Sushi Lover_

****

**_Dear Sushi,_ **

**_You know what I always say. You’ll never know until you try... or, ask, in this case. Just because you’re trash, it doesn’t mean you can’t do great things, Sushi. Hey, it’s called garbage can, not garbage cannot._ **

**_Sincerely,_ **

**_Not Just A Number_ **

****

Lucas Wong looks more like a teacher than a student in Donghyuck’s opinion. Towering over the rest of the students, including Hyuck himself by at least a head, his limbs are all too long for him to comfortably fit into the desks they have in most of the classrooms. It probably doesn’t help that he’s repeating junior year, so he’s in Hyuck’s math class where everyone is younger than him anyway.

Still, despite his lack of academic prowess, Lucas is the most popular guy in school. Honestly, Hyuck’s lost count of the times he’s read pleas to _Not Just A Number_ asking how they could ever have a chance with a guy that matched his description pretty perfectly. The captain of the basketball team, he’s a real showman, always sending the crowd wild with his ball tricks and dunk shots.

Oh, and he’s devastatingly handsome, if that wasn’t already clear. There’s magic sprinkled in Lucas’ protein powder, of that much he’s sure.

All of that considered, Donghyuck expected he’d be the biggest douchebag at Central High. But then he met him, and realised that even without his ethereal good looks and athletic prowess, Lucas Wong is just… well, a really nice guy. He’s always smiling dorkily and is endlessly kind to the people around him, all while giving zero shits about what anyone thinks. The kind of person you can’t even be jealous of at all, because he’s just too nice.

Unfortunately though, no one can be perfect, and Lucas Wong’s fatal flaw was his inability to comprehend mathematics.

One fateful day back in the first semester, Lucas had tapped Donghyuck on the back asking for help with a question, and though Hyuck had to explain that he’d come to the wrong person, it was the start of a mutual respect that existed to this day. In class, they’d sometimes bond over their shared confusion, and Lucas tilting his head up in acknowledgement at Donghyuck in the hallways was probably the closest he would ever be to being cool. And yes, maybe at one point Donghyuck had had a bit of a crush on him – he’s only human after all. But any remnants of it faded once he met another handsome basketballer.

Of course, Mark is much more familiar with Lucas than Donghyuck is. Which is good for Donghyuck’s ingenious plan of having Mark tutor Lucas during their meetings in exchange for his signature on the register. He’s sure if word gets out Lucas Wong has joined the _Heartbeat,_ others will follow suit pretty quickly.

That’s Plan A, anyway, and it sounds promising enough, according to Mark. Hyuck has a Plan B too, but it involves taking hostages. Mark became a lot more enthusiastic about Plan A after he heard that.

It’s slightly less promising that when pitching the idea, the first thing Lucas says is “Our school has a newspaper?” with genuine perplexity on his face. Hyuck knows this from seeing it whenever the teacher would get to about step three of solving a quadratic. They’re stood in the cafeteria, and Donghyuck can practically feel all the curious eyes watching his back, wondering who the hell that was talking to _the_ Lucas Wong.

Mark, who’s joined in for the pitch, pats Lucas on the arm. “Yeah, bro - it’s like a website. You know about the advice column, right?”

Lucas narrows his eyes in thought. “Oh, I do.” He nods, reaching up to scratch his head. “Yo, actually, can you tell whoever it is that writes that to stop telling people to, like, ‘chase their dreams’ and confess to me? I’m only interested in my soulmate, thanks.” He waves his arm, tapping at where his number is presumably branded.

Mark’s head turns slowly toward Donghyuck, who smiles flatly.

“Sure, I’ll tell him.” He nods. Damn, Lucas Wong, a taken man? Today should really be a national day of mourning.

Unsurprisingly, Lucas doesn’t catch on. In fact, his gaze seems to drift elsewhere, where his senior friends are beckoning him to their table.

“Great… listen man, I’d love to help you-” Uh-oh. “But I just don’t have the time right now, things are crazy busy over on the team and-”

“Xuxi,” Mark sighs, and Donghyuck has never heard anyone call Lucas that before, so maybe they’re closer than he thought. “I get you’re a busy guy, but it won’t matter how crazy things are on the team if you get kicked off it - which you will if you don’t pass the year, y’know. I can help you out.” He reminds him, and yup, Mark would know, and Hyuck can vouch for him. “And even if that’s not enough, can you just consider this me calling in a favour?” He asks earnestly. “Like, remember when I hid that pot in my room for three weeks for you and Ju-”

Lucas lurches forward, clapping a hand over Mark’s mouth.

“Wanna say that louder bro? Not sure the freshmen in the back heard you.”

Mouth still covered, Mark just raises his eyebrows in question. For once, Donghyuck knows not to interject.

“An _hour_ a week, Lee. That’s the best I can do.” Lucas concedes, lowering his hand to reveal Mark’s poorly contained smile.

“Thanks man, appreciate it.” Mark says. “So we’ll see you Monday. The IT room at 4.” Lucas can’t seem to hold back his charming lopsided grin anyway, shaking his head and mumbling something incoherent about the school newspaper as he turns to return back to his friends.

Mark turns to Donghyuck, triumphant, then conflicted. “That – that wasn’t technically blackmail, was it? I didn’t threaten anything, right?”

Donghyuck smirks, swinging his backpack over his shoulder as they start walking towards an empty table. Even at moments like these, when he’s thanking his lucky stars Mark Lee is in his life, he can still pull a bemused expression and tease him. Just with slightly more apparent affection.

“I can’t believe you hid drugs for someone. I didn’t know you had it in you.” He chuckles. “Hey, have you hidden anyone else’s pot? Maybe we could use that, too, even if it is a little unethical.”

It doesn’t seem to faze Mark as much as Hyuck expected. “I’m tutoring him math. It’s a fair trade. And you’re a shining beacon of ethics right, Donghyuck?”

“Yuh-huh,” He nods. “Wow. Mark Lee: tutor, drug smuggler and master of blackmail. We should get you a business card!” He grins.

With his good arm, Mark shoves him in the ribs.

_Dear Not Just a Number_

_My best friend has been growing more and more distant from me lately. I’ve confronted him about it, but he just shrugs it off saying he’s tired or some other lame excuse I know just isn’t true. I can’t tell if I’ve done something to upset him, but how can I figure that out when every time I ask he manages to avoid the question somehow. He’s a really sweet guy most of the time, I don’t know what’s wrong._

_Love, Dolphin Boy_

****

**_Dear Dolphin_ **

**…**

It’s a tough one, particularly for a Monday afternoon. Donghyuck can’t help but think this problem sounds a little familiar and yet, also can’t seem to think of what to suggest to the sender. He considers asking Mark for what he would say, but he looks preoccupied already, laughing at something Lucas has said over in the other corner of the room.

To be honest, now that Hyuck has spent the last few months being able to confer with Mark if he ever got stuck on a submission (or math problem), he feels this ever growing dependency on him. It’s something he’s well aware is not good, and not just because Mark will graduate soon. Until now, Mark leaving has felt distant enough for Donghyuck to bury at the bottom of his conscious, although each time the thought nags, the pang it sends through him is just a little stronger than it was the last time.

In the last few days though, something has shifted. Maybe it’s just that he’s become hyperaware to the point he can’t ignore the fact he has completely fallen for a boy that will always be looking for someone better, but things can’t go on the way they have been. So Hyuck had ignored a few of Mark’s more casual texts over the weekend, and declined to go for smoothies with him three days in a row (even though he loves smoothies, and they taste better when he’s drinking it with Mark, somehow).

Of course, this submission couldn’t be from Mark. He’d only been acting this way for four days anyway, so he doubted Mark had even noticed a difference, considering Donghyuck was only one of many people in Mark’s circle.

But as he sits back in his computer chair to consider his advice for Dolphin Boy, his train of thought is interrupted by a small voice.

“Hey, Donghyuck, can I talk to you for a moment?”

Jisung is standing sheepishly beside his desk, backpack looking like it’s about to slide right off his sloping shoulders as he glances between Donghyuck and his fidgeting fingers. This is a first. Usually, Jisung just gets on with whatever he has to do quietly, listening to Chenle babble until the meeting ends and he hurries off to his dance class. But Chenle had already gone home today, trailing behind Dejun about ten minutes ago, and yet here Jisung was.

Hyuck blinks, suddenly recalling what Chenle had said about him being distant of late. Something about the way Jisung asks to talk incurs enough emotional intelligence for him to know not to come back with some sarcastic reply. His gaze flickers back to the screen momentarily, before returning to Jisung’s darting pupils.

“Sure you can,” He nods, and even at that he visibly relaxes a little, sinking into the seat beside him. “Is everything okay?”

Jisung bites his lip.

“First off, please be nice to me right now or the next time I’m opening up to someone will be my autopsy.” He prefaces. Fortunately for him, Donghyuck had already resolved to do that, so he just puffs a little air out of his nostrils and gestures for him to continue. “Uh, well, do you remember a few weeks back, someone wrote in about liking their best friend?”

All too quickly, things begin to fall into place, but Hyuck doesn’t want to draw his conclusion too hastily.

“Yeah,” he replies, drawing it out, “I do remember. I said they should either decide it’s not meant to be, or confront them about it, didn’t I? What was the username again…? _Crushing_ _on_ _Stupid_ , right?”

Jisung nods, looking on the verge of tears.

“That’s fair,” Donghyuck concurs, carefully eyeing the door before testing out with his theory. “Chenle is pretty stupid sometimes.”

The tears spill over, and in Donghyuck’s defence, Jisung probably would’ve cried irrespective of who he was talking to.

“Yeah,” he sniffles quietly in confession, even though Mark and Lucas are well out of earshot. “He is.”

“I guess you didn’t choose the latter, considering how he’s been coming to me telling me you’ve been acting strangely…” Through his tears, Hyuck notices Jisung’s interest pique. “What? You thought you could just cut him off and your feelings would go away, kiddo? Or that he wouldn’t notice?”

“I don’t know what I thought - except that I didn’t want to make things weird between us,” he sighs, running a hand back through his hair.

“Right, well that went well.” (Perhaps Hyuck couldn’t hold in that sarcastic comment, but Jisung did come to him for advice, so that’s on him.) Jisung attempts to shoot a vaguely threatening look he probably learnt from Renjun, although it’s hard to take it seriously when he’s sat there crying. “Jisung… when I give advice in my column, it’s generalised. I don’t know all the circumstances, so people have to take it with a pinch of salt.” He explains. “Sometimes, you’ve got to trust your gut.”

It’s a shame only Donghyuck can fully appreciate the extent of his own hypocrisy, really.

“My gut? My _gut?_ ” Jisung asks, brows furrowed. “I have anxiety. The only thing my gut ever tells me to do is _abort mission_.”

Donghyuck winces. “Huh.”

After a pause, Jisung seems to finally address what Hyuck suspects has been bugging him since then. “You said we can’t be friends now I have a crush on him.” He tells the floor. “Do you- do you really believe that?”

Behind Jisung, Donghyuck catches a glimpse of Mark’s signature laugh, nose scrunched and head thrown back, and realises that for once, he doesn’t have the answer.

“Jisung… I don’t know,” he admits. “I don’t know if you can… but there is one thing I _am_ sure of.” He says, stealing another glance at Mark’s side profile. “He cares about you – a lot. And he doesn’t deserve to be treated poorly just because you don’t know how to deal with your emotions.” In front of him, Jisung hangs onto every word. “If you can’t bring yourself to give him an explanation, at least stop giving him the silent treatment.”

He wipes the two tears from his cheeks, lifting his head. “You’re right, he doesn’t deserve that,” Jisung agrees, squaring his shoulders as he sits up. “I’ll do my best to stop acting so weird around him, anyway. I think it’ll be hard at first though.”

Hyuck hopes he will, lest _The_ _Heartbeat_ becomes the Childhood Social Trauma Club instead.

“ _’All things are difficult before they are easy_ ’” Hyuck quotes the line he got in a fortune cookie once and now has written on the front of his math book - in his best yoda impression, for full effect. Jisung seems mildly impressed with the wisdom as he hikes his backpack further up his shoulder and turns to the door of the IT room.

“You can say that again.” He approves. “Anyway, I’m late for dance.” As he swings the door open, he looks back. “Thanks, Donghyuck.”

Hyuck musters his best fatherly smile, waving a hand. “It’s what I’m here for.”

And as the doors shuts behind him and Donghyuck is once again confronted with his column, he reflects on just how true that statement is.

Mark and Lucas continue to chuckle away in the corner, catching Donghyuck’s attention once again. Whatever they’re doing doesn’t look much like studying (he would know, of course, considering how much time he and Mark also spent not studying). Lucas’ deep laugh carries across the whole room, which is more than distracting enough for him to shut off his computer altogether. What’s so funny about that trig, anyway?

“You guys done over there?” He calls, allowing his annoyance to show through more than he’d like. His tone manages to shut them up pretty quickly. It’s not like he can leave until they do, because only he has the keys to lock up.

“Oh, yeah, sorry, I think we got a bit carried away,” Mark replies, shutting the math book. Beside him, Lucas checks his watch, eyes bulging.

“Shit! Is that the time?” He screeches, leaping up while shoving his things into his gym bag. He smiles first at Hyuck and then – more affectionately, Hyuck thinks – at Mark, before hurrying towards the door. “I gotta run, bye guys!” He pulls the door open, hesitating momentarily before turning to Mark once more. “Oh and dude – thank you,” he adds, dropping into a _wink_ before actually leaving.

It’s all Donghyuck can do to stop his jaw from hanging open. Was that not blatant flirting… _right_ in front of his salad?

It’s strange though. Lucas had said he was only interested in his soulmate, but he sure wasn’t _acting_ like that. That is, unless-

Hyuck’s heart plummets, recalling how Lucas had tapped at his left forearm when referring to his number. It couldn’t be, though, could it?

It’s true Donghyuck has a tendency to jump to conclusions at little quickly sometimes, but everything fits.

Mark glances at him sheepishly, the colour of his cheeks giving away his embarrassment at being the recipient of said wink instantly. He’s leant up against the peeling paint walls of the IT room now, wearing his Thrasher tee that Donghyuck says make him look like a middle schooler but actually kinda makes him look like a cute skater-slash-E boy. Also, the flush actually looks very pretty on Mark, which probably serves to heighten the sudden sense of possessiveness Donghyuck is overwhelmed by.

If it were some other day, he might not have commented on it, but after the pep talk he’d just given Jisung… perhaps it’s time to try out a little of his own advice. He has no claim on Mark, no right to feel this way - but he does, and that much he can’t ignore anymore, number or no number.

“So I guess even you aren’t immune to Lucas Wong’s flirting, hm?” He points out, and even though he tries to say it with integrity, by the end of the sentence he’s staring at his feet. “Still – whether it’s because he’s failing math or because he likes you - I should just be grateful he’s here, right?”

Failing math and liking Mark Lee have been two of Donghyuck’s most prominent and problematic traits. Then again, failing math was something he’d managed overcome, so maybe he’d be able to solve his other problem in the same way.

Although, if Hyuck had have looked up at Mark’s face at that moment, it probably would’ve told him that this wasn’t going to be so simple.

Mark is _gawking_ at him.

“Are- are you being serious right now?” he stutters, hardly able to get his words out.

Donghyuck shrugs, lifting his eyes to the level of Mark’s cast, still decorated in those swirling patterns he’d drawn on last week. More than once since then, he’d caught himself thinking about the way Mark had proudly displayed it the next day. If it meant anything. If it didn’t.

“I mean, seeing as you two have such a great relationship and all. I can’t believe I didn’t realise it before but it makes total sense-”

“Donghyuck.”

Mark’s voice is about as deep and stern as Donghyuck has ever heard it, a warning. If it hadn’t have sounded so much like his mother telling him off, he might’ve even gotten a little turned on by it. Which is absolutely not the thought to be having at this moment. But, yeah.

He makes a conscious effort to look Mark in the eye then, only to find them uncharacteristically unreadable. In fact, the boy standing in front of him now doesn’t look like _his_ Mark at all. _His_ Mark grins near constantly, no matter what bullshit Donghyuck says or does. _This_ Mark isn’t _his_ Mark. And it’s a hard pill to swallow there and then that there is no _his_ Mark, only someone else’s.

For once Donghyuck has nothing to say. Mark is still staring at him, his expression still unrelentingly indecipherable.

“Donghyuck, Lucas isn’t my soulmate, if that’s what you’re thinking.”

If there was a time the ground could simply swallow him whole, Donghyuck wishes this could be it.

“Oh,” So eloquent. All he can hear is the teasing ticking of the IT room clock in the silence that stretches between them, as time seems to stretch infinitely at each pause he makes. “Have you seen his number?” He asks, as casually as one can (which isn’t casual at all, really).

One corner of Mark’s mouth tugs upward, like something is funny. “No.”

Hyuck should really try to process what he’s being told before speaking again... but why break the habit of a lifetime?

“So he could be, then?”

Mark continues to smirk a little, shaking his head and starting to look a little more like the boy Donghyuck knows. “ _You_ made me tutor him, dumbass,” He points out. “So no, he’s not.” His eyes leave Donghyuck’s to admire his cast. “And call me sentimental, but I don’t need a number to know that.” He lets out a small laugh as he meets Hyuck’s gaze again. “Wow, what have you done to me, Lee Donghyuck? You might as well start calling me _Not Just Another Number_.”

But here’s the thing, Mark has never been just another number. Not since the day he walked into the IT room to help him cover that basketball game. Not since he offered to tutor Donghyuck math for nothing in return. Not since he put up with every provocation Donghyuck could throw at him, from vandalising his cast to practically forcing him into slave labour, all with that dumb smile on his face.

Mind you, that dumb smile is nowhere to be seen right now. Mark’s still looking at him with this weird mixture of anger and smugness when he asks,

“You were avoiding me this weekend, right?”

Even though Mark is the same height as him, as he moves closer, Hyuck gradually feels smaller and smaller, moving back until the back of his legs press into the desk behind him and he’s stuck, cornered by Mark in his dumb Thrasher tee.

And guilt isn’t an emotion Donghyuck is particularly used to, but it courses through him there and then as he considers his options – lying (badly) or….

“Yeah. Yeah, I was,” he admits. “Sorry.”

Mark’s jaw is still tense as he presses further. “Why?”

It’s a good question (from Mark’s point of view, anyway) and Donghyuck debates saying it out loud. Something more terrifying than failing calc, Renjun’s wrath or even losing _The Central Heartbeat_ – that he’s falling in love with him and is completely powerless to do anything else but that. That he – Lee Donghyuck, a self proclaimed challenger of the soulmate system – secretly wishes Mark was his. But as he stares at Mark, who’s tongue darts out to wet his lips as he patiently awaits an answer, no words find him.

“Fine, don’t tell me then.” Mark grunts, stepping backward and pushing a hand back through his black hair in frustration. “God, Donghyuck, do you get a kick out of messing with me, seriously? From one moment to the next I can’t tell if I want to kiss you or throw you off a bridge!”

One of those options sounds far more pleasant than the other, but Donghyuck just gapes at him, still processing the situation. Did Mark just say he wanted to kiss him? He really doesn’t know anymore.

Maybe Mark does have an end to his tether, as all too quickly, he’s spinning on his heel to leave, and it’s pure instinct for Hyuck to grip his good wrist and yank him back.

Because Donghyuck was right. You can’t be friends on someone you have a crush on.

And because his fortune cookie was wrong. All things aren’t difficult before they’re easy. There was nothing difficult about being with Mark, not for a minute. From the moment they’d met, it was easy. And it still is.

It’s easy as Donghyuck steps forward to plant his lips directly on Mark’s.

…It’s not really a kiss. More of a mouth-to-mouth. No matter how much Donghyuck had thought about how this moment could go, the truth is, he’s never kissed anyone before, so he has no idea what to do. Not to mention he hadn’t planned this at all. But he hopes the message gets across, at least, as he pulls back to observe Mark’s expression. In Donghyuck’s opinion, he doesn’t look as shocked as he could.

Time slows right down, and Hyuck can’t even hear the ticking of the IT room clock anymore over the blood rushing to his ears. Mark’s eyeline dips from Hyuck’s eyes to his lips up and down at least twice to make sure it’s okay before he’s leaning in again, freeing his wrist from Hyuck’s loosening grip to cup the side of his face.

Now it’s a kiss.

It’s amazing how every concern, every thought that isn’t Mark Lee, just empties from Donghyuck’s head quicker than you could say calculus. His hands find their place at Mark’s waist as he slides back further onto the desk. If Donghyuck had the capability to think, it might’ve registered that this probably isn’t the first time Mark has kissed someone. He’s too coordinated.

Mark kisses like he’s scared he’ll break him, and maybe he will. Slowly, tentatively, carefully.

(Donghyuck kisses like he wants him to.)

It’s hard to tell how long they kiss for, except that when they do pull away, the sun has dipped low enough to illuminate Mark in a warm orange glow to match the flames of his t-shirt.

Donghyuck bites his lip. With the sunset burning behind him, the IT room almost feels romantic. At least until Mark clears his throat a little awkwardly and Donghyuck lets his hands slide from his waist, dangling gracelessly by his side.

“So did you just-”

“I think so.”

“And then I-”

“Yup.”

“Does that mean-”

“Quite probably.”

To be honest, Donghyuck probably has just as many questions as Mark does. Maybe he’ll be able to explain, maybe they’ll somehow figure out a way to work. But for now, just for a little while, he hopes they can forget it all. It’s easy enough when Mark’s looking at him like that anyway, lips a little swollen and pouty.

And until then, Hyuck owes him a smoothie.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this fic won't be abandoned but i'm /kindaaaaa/ slow at writing, so hit that bookmark or subscribe or something if you wanna get that happy lil update email at some point in the future bc things are about to get.. interesting.


	4. four

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “I knew something was going the second I met you guys. There was like… an aura, or something.”  
> “An… aura?” Hyuck clarifies.  
> “Yeah… Oh! And I also saw you guys making out in the parking lot last week.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> brb thinking about how last time i updated nct 2020 wasn't a thing, we didn't know who sungchan and shotaro were... next time, it'll be a new unit, nct world 3.0 and by the epilogue nct world domination

_Dear Not Just a Number_

_To be honest, I don’t have a question, just a PSA to your readers. Guys, don’t buy Colgate whitening toothpaste, it doesn’t work. It says guaranteed whiteness in 14 days, but I am_ still Asian.

_Love,_

_Don’t Forget to Floss_

****

**_Dear Floss,_ **

**_Thanks for that important info. I’ll make sure the word gets out._ **

**_But also – don’t be ashamed of who you are‼ (That’s your parents job xx)_ **

**_Sincerely,_ **

**_Not Just A Number_ **

If Donghyuck did a quick little zoom out on his life right now, it’d probably be fair to say things aren’t all that great. His newspaper is on the brink of being defunded and about to scupper his chances at ever becoming a journalist, the stress of which has caused him to break out, and the stress of _that_ causing his grades to plummet again, despite a certain basketballer’s best efforts. Oh, and he’s also in love with said basketballer - a boy that will drop him as soon as his ‘true love’ comes along, inevitably leaving his heart shattered in a million pieces that he’ll proceed to stamp on with his dumb smile until he graduates and leaves him forever. So that’s nice.

If he did a zoom in though, then things aren’t too bad at all. He’s spent every day after school ignoring precisely all those problems and making out with Mark Lee instead.

And honestly, when you’re wrapped in such a warm and pleasant smelling ~~hottie~~ dork, it’s so, _so_ hard to care about any of it. Mark had flipped Donghyuck’s world, and the very dogma upon which it was built, on its axis in the span of a few weeks - all without really trying, which was pretty terrifying to say the least. Still, if not talking about all the reasons this little arrangement definitely should _not_ be happening is Donghyuck’s goal, well then Mark has been incredibly compliant.

They’re on Donghyuck’s bed the first time he seems to want to actually talk about things, the two of them rolling around on top of his sheets because if Donghyuck thought it was hot in here before, well. Mark sighs against his mouth before leaning up on his good arm and pulling back from Donghyuck, whose lips chase him until he tilts his head up out of reach.

“Donghyuck,” he says, low and deep, reminiscent of how he said it a few days ago in the IT room, but this time, there’s a thin veil of sweat gracing his forehead and he looks significantly less intimidating. Donghyuck only whines in protest, head falling back on the pillow. Mark’s tongue darts out to wet his lips as habit while he hesitates – something Donghyuck had always maintained until Mark was something boys did just to marinate their lies. “I need to get something off my chest.”

But Donghyuck just sends a puff of air from his nostrils, reaching up to hook a hand behind Mark’s neck to pull him back for more. This honeymoon phase, if you could call it that, hasn’t gone on for long enough yet, in his opinion. “Unless it’s your dumb ass Thrasher shirt,” he tells him earnestly, allowing a quick disgusted glance down at the flames, “you don’t.”

And that’s how things continue. Remarkably, no one at _The Heartbeat_ seems to have any inkling as to what’s going on. Jisung and Chenle are clearly too busy pining after each other to notice, Dejun and Renjun are so absorbed in working they barely look up from their screens, and Jeno and Jaemin… well Jeno and Jaemin have been late to every meeting this week, with Jeno claiming he’s busy doing homework.

Renjun _does_ draw his attention from his screen at that, peering from behind his glasses to ask “Homework? Is that Jaemin’s new nickname?” with nothing but a vague air of nonchalance.

(Jeno says nothing.)

When the change does come though, it comes in the shape of a kid with a smile even bigger and dumber than even Mark Lee himself. Oh, and he also owns the same Thrasher tee, albeit in a different colour. Donghyuck is not impressed.

Renjun wasn’t wrong when he said Liu Yangyang would probably violate at least six health and safety violations. In fact, Donghyuck realises now that might’ve been a pretty modest estimate, though he’d die before he ever let the words ‘I told you so’ leave Renjun’s mouth.

This kid darts around the room like the Duracell bunny, introducing himself and grinning as he asks for names and dishes out compliments far too frequently but somehow also with complete sincerity. The group (especially Chenle, after Yangyang admires his Stephen Curry phone case) seem enamoured with him soon enough.

That’s the thing. Yangyang may be one crazy motherfucker, but he’s also a total ray of sunshine. Kind of like when you’re watching him from afar, you can logically see that he’s a walking car crash, but for some reason, once you’re within a two meter radius, it’s Yangyang’s world, he is the sun and you exist just to orbit. And this is Donghyuck saying that, so it must be true.

Hyuck can see why Yangyang’s levels of positivity might be… _testing_ for Renjun, who frankly revels in his own pessimism half the time. This is Renjun, whose idea of fun is seeing how many pencil shavings he can hide in Jeno’s hair without him noticing. Renjun, whose favourite season is ‘whatever it’s not right now’. Renjun, who crosses the street without looking. In fact, they’re total opposites. Chalk and cheese. Night and day. Yin and Yang…yang.

So how on earth they’ve come to be friends is a total mystery.

Jisung also makes good on his promise, and brings along the boy from his dance class, much to Chenle’s chagrin. He looks a little goofy to be a dancer, in Donghyuck’s opinion, but then Jisung looks a little too awkward to be a dancer and he’s done okay for himself.

As it turns out, Guanheng is a senior from Lucas’s friend group, and knows Mark too. Hyuck has a suspicion he recognises Dejun as well, if those side glances being thrown around are anything to go by, but he greets him as though they’ve never met.

Anyhow, at this stage, one day before their deadline, Donghyuck would let Yangyang’s cat Louis join the club if it meant an extra name on the register. Maybe he’d write that article Donghyuck had been planning for months ranking milk alternatives (which are much more environmentally friendly than cow milk, people!). They’re still one person short, and with every avenue seemingly exhausted, it seems like this could be the end.

The severity of the situation has seemingly gone straight over Yangyang’s head though – he is, in his own words, ‘straight vibing’.

“So you’re the one who gives advice to all the people the write in here?” He asks Donghyuck when he’s finally finished making his rounds of the members, head tilted with a genuine curiosity in his eyes. Apparently, Yangyang has too much energy to sit down, and instead is leaning against Renjun’s chair, tapping his foot. Renjun doesn’t seem too impressed, though he’s letting him stand there without a comment which in itself is quite a feat. Perhaps, Donghyuck wonders, Renjun isn’t quite as immune to Yangyang’s charms as he seems, at least when he’s in that radius.

“That’s me,” Hyuck confirms, though his smile doesn’t meet his eyes. Usually, he’d proudly ramble on about _Not Just A Number,_ but it’s hard to feel so enthusiastic right now. Today could well be the last day he ever gets to call himself that. And to think – the last submission he ever received was from Floss the Colgate guy. Could it get any worse?

“Cool, dude,” Yangyang nods in approval. “I remember, I wrote to you once, back in the day – it was actually pretty helpful.”

That takes Donghyuck by surprise, however, and his eyebrows shoot up to show it. Evidently, it catches the attention of both Mark and Renjun either side of them too, who stop typing to listen.

“Really?” He probes. He hopes Yangyang isn’t Floss the Colgate guy.

Honestly, even though Donghyuck is well aware there are real people behind the submissions he receives, hearing someone say it right here in front of him sets an almost… uneasy feeling in his stomach. As in, he kind of dreads what he might’ve told Yangyang in his column. It’s pretty unlike Donghyuck to not stand by something he’s said in the past, but things have changed in the last few weeks, and Donghyuck has been very unlike himself lately.

“Yup!” He grins, popping the ‘p’, in a tone that makes it difficult to tell whether or not he can’t read the room or simply just doesn’t care. “I wrote in telling you I was pretty sure I’d found my soulmate-” Something about that word, Donghyuck notices, and now the entire IT room is listening. Chenle and Jisung have stopped their mindless babbling, and Jaemin has even moved out of Jeno’s lap, sucking at the metal straw of his americano and glancing over curiously. “-but that my soulmate seemed to have no interest in me at all. In fact, it was more like he hated me. I asked you what I should do to get their attention and find out if they like me back.”

Funnily enough, Donghyuck _does_ remember that submission. In fact, Jaemin had even scrutinised it with him, narrowing his eyes and insisting that besides him and Jeno, there were hardly any soulmates at Central High. Jeno had asserted there was no way they could be soulmates if one hated the other, because he could never hate _his_ soulmate - no one could. And then Jaemin had started making kissy faces at him or something, because they hadn’t had much of an input beyond that.

Yangyang, meanwhile, barely takes a breath before continuing.

“You told me that hate is a stronger emotion than indifference.” He announces to the room. It sounds far too wise to have come from Donghyuck, let alone Yangyang’s mouth. “You told me hate is stronger than indifference, and that I should figure out why that is.”

The whole room is still with anticipation, when a snort breaks through the silence.

Mark spins around on his chair, abandoning his computer while supressing a laugh. “I’m sorry, Yangyang, but Donghyuck definitely got that from a fortune cookie.”

Donghyuck scowls at him, and makes a gesture of thwacking him with his clipboard. How dare Mark make such accusations with the mouth he uses to kiss him with.

(It’s true – he _did_ get it from a fortune cookie.)

But before he can berate him further – or indeed, hear the end of Yangyang’s story – the door of the IT room swings back with an immense force that only Lucas Wong could muster. The sudden crash is loud enough to make Jisung jump out of his skin, sending Chenle into a fit of giggles.

But then Lucas steps back, holding the door open instead for someone else, who despite his much slighter figure, strides in with an ego ten foot tall. And great hair, to be honest. Something about him is a little familiar, too, and like Lucas, he definitely looks too old to be a high school student.

The boy does a quick once over of the room as though he’s being shown around a property by his realtor before cocking his head.

“Hello, dudes, nerds and,” he glances over in the direction of the giggles, “literal children.”

Chenle promptly stops laughing.

Donghyuck doesn’t really have the time to consider which of those categories he falls into before Lucas is following in, eyes landing directly on him.

“Hey, Donghyuck,” he calls in a voice that booms from the doorway all the way across to Donghyuck, accompanied with a nod that reminds him of when they cross paths in the hallways. Beside him, the smaller boy leans against the doorframe, arms folded over his chest. “if you’re still looking for that extra member, we have a premonition for you.”

A silence stretches throughout the IT room. Donghyuck blinks once.

Twice.

“Xuxi…” Mark says slowly, “Do you mean… proposition?”

Lucas shrugs.

“Right, same thing,” he dismisses quickly. “Anyway-”

“Huh, where are all the girls in this club? What a sausage fest,” Lucas’s companion remarks nonchalantly with a slight hair flick to punctuate.

It’s Jaemin that spins on his chair to eye the boy carefully, folding his arms to mirror him.

“Would _you_ trust someone that bleeds for five to seven days every month and doesn’t _die?_ ”

Jisung screws his face up, but the boy beside Lucas seems to concur.

“ _Anyway_ ,” he continues, clearing his throat and unfolding his arms to put his hands on his hips. “I can get you that extra member, if you’re that desperate.”

It’s the lifeline he’s been praying for - but Donghyuck knows that tone. He’s sure used it himself enough – there’s a catch he won’t like here.

“Wait a second,” Dejun, of all people, interrupts, “Jungwoo, didn’t you graduate?”

That’s right. Kim Jungwoo. Donghyuck knew he recognised that face, although he hadn’t seen it for a while. Kim Jungwoo, or as Jaemin usually referred to him, Jung-gina George, was one of the biggest names at Central back when they were freshmen. But then one day he seemingly disappeared, and with him followed countless rumours about where he’d gone. Donghyuck had always just kind of assumed he’d transferred maybe because of a parent’s job or something, though Jaemin had always insisted it was because he’d finally gotten caught with his side business of selling the teachers his mom’s Xanax.

For the first time since he appeared in the doorway, Jungwoo falters just a little, before restoring a tight lipped smile and pushing a little hair back behind his ear.

“Oh, you know, I just took a little sabbatical last-”

“He dropped out to go to beauty school,” Mark interrupts, as Jungwoo’s face falls. “flunked shampooing and then realised it’s a tough life out there without a diploma,” He explains without batting an eyelid, before turning his attention back to the pair in the doorway. “Anyway, you were saying?”

Jungwoo eyes him dryly.

“Just that I was late for my bus.”

Thankfully, Lucas catches Jungwoo by the wrist as he spins on his heel, pulling him back then landing both hands on his shoulders to keep him there.

“Our premonition-”

“-proposition-” Mark corrects, though Lucas doesn’t stop.

“-to you guys. You need one more member, and _we_ need some exposure.”

“ _Right,_ ” Jaemin articulates, glancing at them sceptically. “Can I ask what for? Assuming that’s not a request for us to promote your OnlyFans, Jungwoo.”

“Oh! That’s the best part!” Jungwoo chimes, suddenly enthusiastic, and for a moment, Donghyuck wonders if they just might end up with pictures of Jungwoo’s leather clad booty all over their humble school blog. “You guys are all now on the prom committee!”

It’s clear from the atmosphere of the room, no one can tell if that’s better or worse, and it remains pretty much silent, save for Renjun’s singular, less-than-humorous laugh. It takes a while for any reaction at all actually, and when it does come it’s just Guanheng pulling a face like someone’s just told him the cafeteria has run out of tacos and saying “I literally just got here.”

That, Guanheng might. But Donghyuck’ll be damned if the last post on his blog is a PSA about toothpaste. And besides, who couldn’t do with a little more extra credit?

“So you join The Heartbeat in exchange for all eleven of us joining the prom committee?” Jaemin asks. “Doesn’t that deal sound a little one-sided?”

Jungwoo chuckles, gently placing a hand on his chest.

“Me? Join anti-social social club? Please,” he snorts. “Besides, I’m way too busy with prom arrangements. It’s a roaring twenties theme I literally have an order of 800 peacock feathers coming in on Monday.”

Donghyuck isn’t too sure how the two relate, but hey, at least this won’t be his last prom. That is, if Renjun doesn’t kill him before then.

Mark narrows his eyes.

“You’re only taking night classes so you’re not eligible, right?”

Lucas nods proudly.

“Yup.”

And Jungwoo jabs him in the ribs.

Leaving Chenle to ask the question on everyone’s lips.

“So if you’re not joining – who is?”

To which Jungwoo just offers up the same knowing smile he’d given Mark back when they were Sophomores, as Mark had watched him pour vodka into his morning americano.

“Oh, I think you’ll be satisfied.”

_Dear Not Just a Number_

_I have a crush on my best friend, and I think he knows it. Sometimes I think he waiting for me to make the first move, and other times I think he’s praying I don’t make a move at all._

_What should I do? He can never make his mind up._

_Love,_

_Dolphin Boy_

****

**_Dear Dolphin,_ **

**_Your best friend sounds like he’s hot and cold, yes and no, in and out and up and down…. Sooooo he’s probably into you._ **

**_Besides, Katy Perry and I both want you to shoot your shot. And if he’s as good a friend as you say, even if he isn’t, things will get back to normal pretty quick._ **

**_Sincerely,_ **

**_Not Just A Number_ **

****

Donghyuck would assume that most school proms usually have a banner that reads ‘Prom 2020’ or ‘Congrats Class of 2020’ or you know, literally anything along those lines. But some reason, the pencilled out, 20ft banner they are met with reads ‘Let’s party like itz 1920!’, so Jungwoo had learnt the hard way not to let Lucas make the banners without a spell check first, even if he was insisting it ‘looked cooler spelt that way’.

As it turns out, The Central Heartbeat hadn’t been the only club under fire once the principle’s new rules had been introduced. In fact, they’d been in a much better position than the prom committee, who, until today, had only boasted four members, and no wonder they’d needed the funding if Jungwoo was ordering shit like 800 peacock feathers (“for the centrepieces!”). In truth, Donghyuck isn’t sure it’s actually possible to disband the prom committee even if they were low in membership, considering they literally plan and execute prom, but it isn’t really his concern. His head is too full of stupid calc formulae and stupid Mark Lee anyways - not necessarily in equal measure.

So now here they are, the members of The Heartbeat, spread up and down the length of a misspelt banner and surrounded by pots of gold and navy paint. Who’d have thought it would come to this? It’s weird enough for Donghyuck to even see them all out of office chairs.

Though it’s clear Jungwoo is running things around here, only three names actually grace the register.

Unsurprisingly, Lucas is the first. Donghyuck never had him down for a simp, but watching the way he hangs off Jungwoo’s every word is actually even more sickening than Jeno and Jaemin. It’s almost like they’re-

“Soulmates?” Asks a small voice from just beside Donghyuck, glancing at Jeno and Jaemin’s interlinked fingers and dragging Hyuck’s attention with it. More surprisingly, the quietest kid from Hyuck’s world history class – Shotaro – is the second name on prom committee. And aside from calling a polite ‘here’ during rollcall, Hyuck thinks that might’ve been the first time he’s ever heard him speak. “You guys are soulmates?”

Of course, his question triggers off Jaemin and his favourite love story – poor Shotaro - causing Hyuck to redirect his attention to the final, and perhaps most surprising, new recruit: Jung Sungchan.

Ah, yes. Jung Sungchan. If Jungwoo was Jung-gina George, then Sungchan was his Gret-chan Weiners. Up there with some of the most attractive guys in school, Sungchan is head cheerleader (as would be expected of Jungwoo’s protégé), which Donghyuck can only assume would keep him pretty busy. How he has time for cheer, prom committee, The Heartbeat _and_ getting his hair to sit so perfectly, he has no idea.

Apparently though, even the head of Central Cheer is humble enough to paint a misspelt prom banner. And if he can, maybe Donghyuck can too.

Actually, to Hyuck’s surprise, most people don’t seem to mind the painting too much. The time certainly passes quicker once Jungwoo flicks on an old Destiny’s Child album he found in the back. Jaemin keeps flirting with Jeno with just his eyes, extra loved up after telling Shotaro their epic love story, while Jeno just grins and blushes, and Donghyuck would probably be disgusted if he wasn’t so jealous. Even Renjun seems in his element, immune to Yangyang yapping away by his side to Mark, who is just diligently painting the outline of the ‘9’ with his good hand and chattering on about some basketball game that was on this weekend.

It really shouldn’t irk Hyuck that Mark chats so nonchalantly with Yangyang about things they have in common, but it does, and the fact he _lets_ it bother him irks him even further. In fact, Donghyuck realises with a burst of clarity, he and Mark have pretty much nothing in common. Mark doesn’t chat to _him_ like that. In fact, they mostly just argue or make out – sometimes both if Hyuck’s feeling particularly worked up.

It’s only when Mark excuses himself to the bathroom that Renjun huffs, dumps his paintbrush back in the pot, spins to look at Hyuck and says

“Right, what is going on with you?”

Ok, so maybe Donghyuck hadn’t been quite as covert as he’d first thought.

“I- what?”

“You’re being quiet and it’s weirding me out,” Renjun points out, pushing his wire glasses a little further up the bridge of his nose. Was he being quiet? He didn’t even realise. “Whatever it is-”

“He likes Mark.” Yangyang interrupts, matter-of-factly, barely even looking up from his golden ‘Z’.

Hyuck, however, physically recoils. Hearing it said out loud like that, it’s like being struck by lightning. How on God’s green earth does Yangyang know that? For one, he’s only known him two minutes.

And since Donghyuck.exe has stopped working, it’s on Renjun to say something next. “Huh. That true, Hyuck?” He asks, cocking his head, and instead of looking totally shocked, settling for a neutral complexion.

“Yangyang… how- how do you-”

Yangyang shrugs, looking up this time. “Call it a fifth sense.”

“Well I- wait, a fifth?” For two, Donghyuck hadn’t pegged Yangyang for having the most braincells.

(Beside him, Renjun lays a hand down on Hyuck’s knee, and shakes his head gently.

“Don’t question it, trust me.” He whispers.)

“Yup,” Yangyang nods. “I knew something was going the second I met you guys. There was like… an aura, or something.”

“An… aura?” Hyuck clarifies.

“Yeah… Oh! And I also saw you guys making out in the parking lot last week.” He adds with bright eyes, letting Donghyuck’s shoulders slump. So maybe Donghyuck had gotten a little side tracked on the way to the smoothie place. But you know, it’s hard to exist in Mark’s orbit without being allowed to touch him all day. Can he really be blamed?

Renjun lets out a low whistle from his cherry-balmed lips. “So what, you like him and he likes you? Ok, well there’s nothing to be upset about there… so why aren’t you dating? Or has he done something to like… offend you?”

Well, isn’t that a loaded question. The answer is of course – yes. Hyuck is offended. How could he not be? Mark will happily engage in hot and heavy make out sessions with him as soon as they’re off school premises, squeeze his hand at the bus stop and heck, even pinch his ass when he’s ordering their smoothies. But as soon as they’re at school, it’s like Donghyuck is… exactly the same as everyone else. Now it really doesn’t take a genius to realise that not only is Donghyuck the perfect blend of iconic, woke and beautiful, but that he _definitely_ is nothing like everyone else and therefore should not be treated as such. And considering Donghyuck is letting Mark go anywhere near him (let alone kiss him), well, is it really too much to expect a little more effort? And of course, that’s before the whole, Mark-is-looking-for-his-One-True-Love-and-Hyuck-is-decidedly-not-him situation.

Donghyuck sure as hell doesn’t have the time to explain all that before Mark comes back from the bathroom, though, so he just settles for-

“I’d destroy him.” Short and perhaps a little dramatic (just like Hyuck himself).

Sure enough, the gymnasium door swings open in that moment, and Mark begins to stride towards them. “You know,” Renjun states as they both observe him. “I think he’d be into that.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry again for the big update gaps, but we're almost there y'all. also, thank you to everyone who left an encouraging comment, it helped me find the motivation to pick this back up exactly when i needed it!!
> 
> (and if anyone is taking suggestions, i feel a sungchan head cheerleader fic is something we all need) xx


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